Lighter Side: Celebrity lawyer “Mr Loophole” loses his own battle

Celebrity lawyer Nick “Mr Loophole” Freeman who earned his nickname getting celebrities off driving charges has been caught out by advertising watchdogs over boastful claims on his website.

Freeman has successful represented celebrities including David Beckham, Jeremy Clarkson, Wayne Rooney and Sir Alex Ferguson, but has failed in his battle against the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), The Mirror reported.

On Wednesday he lost a ruling by the ASA after a complaint lodged by a former client brought attention to the way Freeman advertised his services on his company website.

The anonymous client said that the claim that, “With Freeman & Co you’ll receive Nick Freeman’s expertise and experience in cases”, was misleading because Freeman was actually only involved in certain “priority” cases.

The ASA agreed, and ruled that the advertisement breached the advertising code, was misleading, and must not appear again in its current form.

The watchdog wrote: “We considered the claim ‘With Freeman & Co you’ll receive - Nick Freeman’s expertise and experience in cases’ was ambiguous and could be interpreted as suggesting Mr Freeman would be directly involved in handling every case as well as being available to personally discuss cases with each client.

“We noted the ad also referred to Nick Freeman’s ‘success in the courtroom’, which we considered might be interpreted as suggesting he would personally represent clients at court.

“We considered the overall impression of the ad was such that it would be understood to mean Nick Freeman would be directly involved with the details of each client’s case.

“Because in some instances Mr Freeman had only overall supervision of cases, we concluded the ad was misleading.”

Freeman retorted: “This is the first time I have ever received such a complaint. It relates to the firm’s old website which was changed last year. The client initially complained to the Legal Ombudsman who rejected the complaint.”

“The client then complained to the Advertising Standards Agency who rejected the complaint.

“She then appealed and the complaint was upheld upon the basis that the website created the impression that I am involved in every case…

“Whilst I do have an involvement in every case, I clearly cannot personally represent every client. This client never personally requested, or paid, for my representation in Court”.

Thanks to the successes of his motoring cases in court, Freeman owns a Cheshire mansion and a luxury pad on the French Riviera.